Adventures in the Later Roman Empire

03 January 2014

Former Historic Scotland Boss Gets £300,000 Goodbye

I blog regularly on the management issues of Historic Scotland. If 2013 was comparatively quiet, it came on the back of a particularly difficult 2012 for the agency that culminated with the resignation of the then chief executive Ruth Parsons. Her time in charge was overshadowed by complaints about her management style, charges of bullying and the gradual politicisation of the agency.

The Herald today reveals that she received "compensation for loss of office" in the region of £290,000.

The pay off is rather more than many would have liked to see, especially since she resigned:

Robert Oxley, campaign director of the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, said: "This is an extraordinary payoff that raises huge questions over who approved it and why. Given the record of Historic Scotland under Ruth Parsons's leadership, many will question why she has been handed a penny given that she resigned.

"Taxpayers must be assured that they haven't paid a huge bill to ease Parsons out quietly."